444 CUPULIFER/E 



sessilf, erecl, the ^laminate longer ; aiilliers and slyles red ; drupe 

 minute, 2-\vinged Isy the- adherent bracts. — Bog.s ; comnKin. — Fl. 

 Ma) — ]u\\. I'erennial. 



DrIi. LXXA". ClliPULl'FER.K. — ^Mast-jiearing I'a.mii.v 



An (")riJer \ariously Innited by different botanists, liut wliich 

 ma\' be taken as comprising lo genera and about 400 species of 

 trees and shriilis, widely distributed over the globe and of \ cr)' 

 great value ti> man as timber, for laark containing tannin and 

 useful therefore in dressing leather, and for edible seeds. Tliey 

 have scattered, stipulate, simple leaves, either evergreen (in foreign 

 species) or deciduous; and monixcious flehers which are pollinated 

 by the wind. The slanu'jiate fiowers arS generally in pendulous, 

 deciduous catkins, with 2 — :o stai!!e:iS ia each flower; the carpel- 

 lale flowers sessile in an involucre, each generally with a superior 

 5 — 6-toothed perianth, a 2 — 3-chamberedrj?z'«n', 2 — 3 styles, and t 

 or 2 ovules m each chamber. The jriiit is a dry indehiscent i- or 

 rarely 2-seeded nut, surrounded by the iitpule or enlarged invo- 

 lucre, which gives its name to the Order.'; and the seeds are large, 

 e.xalbuQiinous, with 2, or rarely 3, fleshy or mealy cotyledons. 



Cork is the outer bark of Quercus Siiber, an evergreen species 

 of Oak mainly grown iii Northern Spain. Its periodical removal 

 in no way injures the vitality of the tree. 'J'he first crop which is 

 cracked and furrowed is known as Virgip Coik. (Quercitron, the 

 bark of the North iVmerican Quercus tinctoria, is mainly employed 

 as a yellow d)-e. The bark of our English Oak {Q. Rvbur), A'alonia, 

 which is the acorn-cups, and Cameta, the young acorns uf the 

 Levantine (). ^£g//('/'^, are used in tanning; and the galls produced 

 by insect puncture on Q. injectoria in the same country are one of 

 the chief ingredients of ink. The bark (jf various species of Birch 

 (Betula) is used in Canada for making canoes and moccasins, 

 and in Russia for ^■arious utensils, as well as in lanning. The 

 wood of the Alder {JIuus f^lutiiiosa) is burnt into charcoal for 

 making gunpowder, and that of the Hornbeam {Carpiiins Hiiuhn), 

 on account of its toughness, is specially adapted to the manu- 

 facture of cog-wheels, as also js that of the American ] .i\-e C^ak 

 (Quercus vireus). The wood of tlie QiJebec fSirch (Hetiila Inita) 

 and that of the European B. verrucosa are largely used in making 

 furniture, and that of the Beech (FdnusM'hidlica.) in Buckingham- 

 shire, m <hau"-making ; whilst it is unuccessai)' to attempt to 

 enumerate tlie uses of Oak timber. Chestnuts, the fruit of Cas- 

 Iciiiea saliva, are an important article of food in southern Europe, 



